born and raised twice in the bay, I preach Jesus and him crucified
Grief, Hope, and the Long Road Home Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “We do not want you to be uninformed, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4.13). We quote that verse often. We rarely talk about how heavy it is to live inside that hope while the losses keep... Continue Reading →
Desiderius Erasmus published The Praise of Folly in 1511 as an oration delivered by Folly herself, a goddess who praises her own gifts. The joke runs long, and readers have often stopped there, receiving the book as satire, a humanist’s wit turned on monks, popes, and pedants. But Erasmus is doing something more than lampooning... Continue Reading →
Revelation gives us two images, and they could not be more different. The first is a prostitute riding the beast, drunk on the blood of the saints. The second is a bride, clothed in fine linen, made ready for the Lamb. Babylon is not simply “bad people out there.” It is the whole system of cultural power,... Continue Reading →
Everyone believes. The question is what your belief can bear. Most of us don’t meet bad theology first in a classroom. We meet it on our phones. You’re scrolling between emails and grocery lists and there it is: a polished graphic announcing that Christianity is just re-branded paganism, or a reel claiming some ancient myth... Continue Reading →
Off and on I post pictures from my youth. Throwback Thursday is a gift. What surprises me is how many people want to hide the “uncool” stuff. I was not cool then. I am not cool now. I have made peace with this. I am not ashamed of the dorky, geeky parts of my past,... Continue Reading →
Phillip W. Martin 